Special City Council Meeting – March 17, 2026
Special City Council Meeting – March 17, 2026
This special meeting of the Cheyenne City Council was convened at 6:00 p.m. on March 16, 2026, for collective labor bargaining with the Cheyenne Professional Fire Fighters, IAFF Local 279. (Note: source materials list March 16, but the assigned date for this summary is March 17, 2026.) The meeting included opening remarks, presentation of a counter proposal by the Union, extensive discussion on wage comparisons, peer groups, cost of living, attrition, and specialty pays, an executive session, and adjournment with a scheduled follow-up meeting.
Discussion Items
- Union Counterproposal: Union President Chris Thoms presented a counter proposal reducing the wage increase request from 6% to 5%, along with updates to Section 19 (Inclement Weather) and Section 21 (Classification of Employment and Basic Wages).
- Peer Comparisons: The Union argued for including Front Range departments (Loveland, Greeley, Fort Collins) as appropriate comparisons due to similar staffing models, call volumes, and shared regional labor market. They claimed Cheyenne firefighters are behind some of these departments by 22.6 to 42.3 percent even after accounting for cost-of-living differences. Mayor Collins and the City maintained that Wyoming municipalities (Casper, Laramie, etc.) are the proper peer group because they operate under the same funding mechanisms and have comparable cost structures.
- Cost of Living Data: The Union cited data from bestplaces.net showing Cheyenne is 14.7% cheaper than Fort Collins, 11.5% cheaper than Loveland, and 4.5% cheaper than Greeley, but argued the wage gap remains significant. Mayor Collins recalculated using the same website and contended that after factoring in specialty pays, a Cheyenne company officer would need $106,031 in Loveland to match compensation, which is higher than Loveland's current wage.
- Attrition and Recruitment: Union Vice President Jason Lindsay presented a list of 17 firefighters who left over 17 years, with 12 departing for wages. Mayor Collins countered with a 10-year analysis showing 23 departures, only 4 related to salary (others: family relocation, career advancement, termination, etc.). He noted Cheyenne currently has 108 applicants on the list for the upcoming test, spanning 11 states, indicating no recruitment crisis.
- Specialty Pays: The Union emphasized that specialty pays compensate for advanced certifications (paramedic, hazmat, technical rescue) and are not bonuses. They argued 40% of Cheyenne firefighters are paramedics, contributing to higher average wages. The City noted it pays for training and provides ongoing specialty pay ($7,700 annually for paramedics), and the higher wages reflect this investment.
- City's Offer and Fiscal Position: Mayor Collins reiterated the City's standing offer of a 3% raise already implemented plus another 3% in the contract (6% total for the year). He stressed that recurring expenses must be funded by recurring revenues; one-time building permits and reserves should not be used for ongoing salary increases. The Union argued the City has accumulated reserves and an upcoming Meta data center will bring significant new revenue (the City disputed the Union's revenue projections).
- Executive Session: At 6:41 p.m., the Council moved into executive session (W.S. §16-4-405(a)(x)) with specified staff, reconvening at 7:06 p.m. for continued discussion.
Key Outcomes
- No Agreement Reached: The parties remained at an impasse primarily over the definition of appropriate peer groups.
- City Standing Offer: The City reaffirmed its proposed 6% overall increase (3% already implemented plus 3% in the new contract).
- Union Request to Review Data: The Union asked for time to review rank average compensation data provided by the City.
- Next Scheduled Meeting: The Council and Union agreed to reconvene the next evening (March 17, 2026 at 6:00 p.m.) to continue negotiations.
- Adjournment: The special meeting was adjourned at 7:35 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
All right, I'll call this uh special meeting of the governing body to order for March 16th, 2026. Madam Clerk, would you take the role, please? Mr. Lyborn. Here. Mr. Moody. Here. Dr. Rennie. Mr. Seagrape. Present. Mr. White. Present. Mr. Wolf. Dr. Aldrich. Present. Mayor Collins. Present. Dr. Emmons. Present. Mr. Eskabel. Here. Two members are absent. We do have a quorum. Thank you. Would you join me in the Pledge of Allegiance? Collective Labor Bargaining with Cheyenne Professional Firefighters, International Association of Firefighters, Local Number 279. Well, welcome back. Thank you for having us, Mayor Collins. I think the last time we were here, you guys wanted to uh step aside for just a little bit and then come back and uh so maybe we should start there. Absolutely. Um to go with it, I do have uh a statement I'd like to give if that's all right. Good evening, Mayor Collins, City Council members, Chief Dyke Shorn and all other city staff here. First off, on behalf of IFF local two seven nine, I want to thank the city for bringing forward proposals at last week's meeting. We appreciate the work that went into preparing those and continue this process. I also want to reiterate something our local has already made clear to the governing body in prior remarks. A fair market correction to wages remain the top priority for our membership in these negotiations. When we talk about peer departments, we're not simply referring to departments of similar size. True peer comparisons incl include departments that share similar staffing models, similar call similar call volume and service demands, similar operational capabilities, and importantly, similar geographical labor markets. Cheyenne sits directly adjacent to the front range corridor of Colorado, and firefighters deciding where to work often compare departments within their regional labor market. Because of that, front range front range departments are relevant comparisons when discussing firefighter compensation. Because this involves some technical details, I'd like to turn that portion over to Vice President Jason Lindsay, who explained those calculations further. Thank you, President Thomas.
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